I recently had an interaction with a good friend of mine, him voicing his frustration with a particular client. With sparing you the details, he decided it was better to quit. Now the guy is a young designer, and I remember at his age thinking, “I hate this but it will pay off in the long run”. At his age, to get out of the contract he was in, is pure genius. Not sure how many young free lance designer would have the guts to do such a thing.
Ironically enough, I just read “The Dip” by Seth Godin. Seth talks about quitting at the right time. There are times that we start something and we are faced with a decision when the times get tough:
A. Will this get better?
B. Did I hit a dead end?
My buddy hit a point where he knew this client was just not going to budge. He was smart, there is enough clients he can pour his time and energy to and not waste it on a brick wall.
This is unorthodox, but get into the habit of quitting, and start thinking before starting (than you won’t have to quit as much).
Choose Wisely – “Jay-Z”
Tags: business, Design, film, jay-z, on to the next one, quitting, seth godin, smart